Vikes Beat P'burg For 5th Straight Scholastic Boys Basketball

December 21, 1985|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

A funny thing happened to unbeaten (5-0) Central Catholic en route to what figured to be a relatively easy win at Phillipsburg (1-3) last night. Oh, sure . . . the Vikes did emerge with a 53-44 victory. But it wasn't nearly as easy as the nine-point margin would indicate.

If the Vikings crossed the border expecting a cakewalk against the relatively inexperienced Stateliners, what they got instead was a war.

P'burg played deliberately on offense to slow the tempo against the high- powered Vikes, and played belly-to-belly defense that severely tested Central stars Ed McCaffrey and Erik Smith. But, as is often the case, at the end it was that talented twosome and slender forward Dave Eddinger that lifted the Vikings to victory.

After P'burg sharpshooter Greg Badway's jumper tied the game for the seventh time at 35-35 with 5:39 to go, McCaffrey converted a foul line jumper into a three-point lead Central would not relinquish. When reserve point guard Mike Galgon tossed in a 20-footer, Smith's two free throws and Eddinger a three-pointer off a nifty pass from McCaffrey, the Vikes led 45-37.

Although sensational 5-6 freshman point guard Steve Zieman canned a 20- footer and two free throws to cut it to 45-41 with 1:14 left, that was as close as the 'Liners could get. Eddinger banked one in from the low post and then knocked in a followup to stretch the margin to 49-41.

The contest was a physical one from the start and, in fact, at times seemed to be on the verge of getting out of control. Predictably, when it ended, opposing coaches Bob Schlosser and Tom Fisher viewed it from widely differing perspectives.

Central's Schlosser was downright furious and, although he refused to be specific, he made it obvious he was displeased with P'burg's style of play.

Asked if his kids had, indeed, survived their first stern test of the season, he answered hotly, "I wouldn't call that a test. It was an ugly game, and I'm just very proud of our kids for keeping their composure in an ugly situation.

"I will not elaborate on any of that. I normally have a lot to say after games, but I don't have beans to say tonight. We have a class program here, and we will continue to. The best team won again, and I'm just proud of our young men. The kids played intelligent basketball when things got ugly - and it was ugly from the start."

Fisher saw things differently. "It's just a shame," he said. "Our kids played very hard and very well, the best they've played this season. I've got to be happy with the effort. But we're competitors, and we can't be happy with a loss.

"We did everything we had to do except shoot fouls. (The Stateliners' 6- for-15 performance from the charity stripe severely compromised their chances and left then at a poor 28-for-67 - 41.8 percent - through four games.) We controlled the tempo; we got the shots we wanted on offense, and defensively we did a good job on McCaffrey."

Indeed they did. P'burg used a 2-3 zone, but Fisher had middle man Keith Gargone and reserve Bill Snyder shadowing McCaffrey man-to-man while the ball was out front. The 6-6 Vike center had only two points at the half and only reached 10 when he dropped in a semi-dunk at the final buzzer.

Smith paced the Vikes with 16 points, while 6-5 P'burg center Lou Freeman matched him. Frank Stalsitz had 11 for the Vikes, while Eddinger also had 10. Badway notched 11 for P'burg, with little Zieman - a future star if there ever was one - adding eight.

At the end, it was some pressure defense by the Vikes that turned the tide, although the Stateliners handled it earlier.

"They were extremely patient on offense," Schlosser admitted, "and, as a result, we got a little impatient. But at the end, our pressure took its toll."

Said Fisher: "You can't hide it, it won't go away by not talking about it: we've just gotta shoot better from the foul line."